Buenos Aires’s densely built city center, ferocious traffic, and monotonous terrain limit recreational cycling, but a surprising number of porteños—even some policemen—get around on bicycles. There is a growing network of paved bicycle trails, and Palermo’s parks and the roads of suburban Buenos Aires Province encourage some riders.

Rental bikes are available along Avenida de Infanta Isabel in Palermo’s Parque Tres de Febrero (on both sides of the Museo de Artes Plásticas Eduardo Sívori), and at the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur.

Midway between the cities of Colón and Concordia, 8,500-hectare Parque Nacional El Palmar offers a backward glimpse of what Entre Ríos and adjacent areas of Uruguay and Brazil looked like before 19th-century farming, forestry, and cattle altered the ecology of the native yatay-palm savannas. Although Syagrus yatay remains in substantial numbers here and its reproduction has improved since the park’s establishment in 1966, its population structure is uneven—some individuals are more than 200 years old, but “middle-aged” trees are few.

From the west, the long lines of Lombardy poplars flanking RN 7 offer a dramatic approach to Uspallata, a crossroads village in an area that, thanks to its resemblance to the central-Asian highlands, enjoyed 131 minutes of cinematic fame as the base for French director Jean-Jacques Annaud’s movie (and Brad Pitt vehicle) of Heinrich Harrer’s memoir Seven Years in Tibet. Annaud airlifted in yak extras from Montana for the filming, which journalist Orville Schell chronicled in his Virtual Tibet (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2000).

According to local folklore, Walt Disney’s cartoon feature Bambi modeled its forest after the arrayán woodland at the tip of Península Quetrihué, a former estancia that became a national park in 1971. With their bright white flowers, the eye-catching red-barked forests of Myrceugenella apiculata do bear a resemblance, but a Disney archivist has pointed out that Walt never visited the area. In fact, Bambi was in production before his 1941 trip to Argentina.

The Rosarito–Ensenada 50-Mile Fun Bicycle Ride (tel. 619/424-6084, www.rosaritoensenada.com) takes place on a Saturday in April and attracts as many as 10,000 participants, making it one of the world’s largest cycling events. The route follows the coast, with an elevation differential of around 300 meters (1,000 ft). You can register online (US$35) or on the day of the event (US$40).

The mid-May Lifeguard Triathlon based at the Hotel Coral & Marina (Km 103, tel. 646/175-0000, U.S./Canada tel. 800/862-9020, www.hotelcoral.com) consists of two events: a sprint event (750-meter swim, 20-km cycle, 5-km run) and an Olympic-distance triathlon (1.4-km swim, 40-km cycle, 10-km run).

Pedaling South (U.S. tel. 707/942-4450 or 800/398-6200, www.tourbaja.com) runs the following multiday cycling tours: Sierra Ridge Ride (9 days for US$795 pp), San Javier Singletrack (8 days, US$795), Oasis Bases (7–8 days, US$695), and Cross Baja/Whale Watch (9 days, US$995).

Combo sea kayak/mountain bike trips are also available at US$795 for seven days.

If you bring your own bike, Pedaling South deducts US$95 from the tour rates. Included in the price are accommodations, ground transport, meals on tour days, camping gear, tents, guides, tracking vehicles, and first aid.

NaturAdventure (tel. 624/105-2050, www.naturadventure.com) leads half-day and full-day trail rides of varying levels around the Los Cabos area on Gary Fisher, Trek, and Specialized bikes. Destinations include Punta Gorda (US$65 pp), Cabo Pulmo (US$95 pp), and the Sierra de la Laguna (US$90 pp, US$75 half-day). Previous clients (only) can rent bikes for a self-guided tour (US$35–55 per day). MTB shoes and Shimano pedals are also available.

Nomadas de Baja (Calle Zaragoza near the Pemex, tel./fax 624/146-9642) organizes a full range of guided expeditions throughout southern Baja. You can choose from a desert hot springs walking tour (US$65), kayak adventures around Cabo Pulmo (nine hours, US$105), diving (two-tank dive, US$140), and mountain-bike tours (2.5–5 hours, US$85). Rates include a bilingual guide, all related gear, lunch and/or snacks, and beverages.

ATVs and Waverunners

The sandy beaches and dunes in the Cabo San Lucas area are open to all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), as long as they’re kept away from swimming areas (Playa El Médano) or turtle-nesting areas (Cabo Falso).